The Valley of Fear
by blame it on my ADD baby
Summary: In the post-apocalyptic nation of Adroit, there are 9 zones. Kim Crawford is from the strong Zone 9, and Jack Brewer is from Zone 5. When Jack has been given the task of killing Kim's father, he doesn't expect the fierce blonde to tag along after.But what starts as a simple mission quickly turns into a full scale war, and maybe love between the two sworn enemies.
1. Introduction

_**Disclaimer for the Entire Story: I do not own Kickin' It, nor do I claim to. The only thing I own is the story plot.**_

_Hey, guys! I know, I'm a terrible person for having two multi-chapter stories at the same time. But this idea was stuck in my head for the longest time and it refused to budge. So finally, I just had to get it down. And when I did, I was like WOW. I really like where this is heading. So please give it a try. And if you haven't already, read my other multi-chapter story, The Lipstick Wars, cause it's my baby and I'm so proud of it. Also, more than half of it is done and I have the whole week off, so I can update more often. I should probably stop babbling, so...on with the story._

_P.S. Sorry for the short chapter. This is the intro, so the chapters will be longer from now on._

* * *

**KIM**

Kim pulled up the hood of her gray sweater, trying to block out the jeers and snarls of the village boys as she pushed past them. She wasn't hurt by them; what self-respecting nineteen year old woman would be saddened by the taunting of seven year olds? She was just annoyed of them. Besides, if she wanted to get the sticky gum out of her hair with minimal damage, she had to do it quick, and in the safety of her home.

Sprinting up the steps, she pulled the door open and slammed it shut just as quickly. The voices of the boys were drowned out by the usual hubbub of the Mayor's house. It still puzzled Kim as to why the children made fun of her hair when she was the daughter of the most powerful man in Zone 9.

After the Final War, the counties of the Earth were ruined and the government leaders dead and gone. A group of survivors came together, determined never to do again what the leaders of the past did. The group of nine came to be known as the 9 Stones, because they are the foundation for the most populous nation in the world: Adroit, which means quick and skillful.

Each of the 9 Stones took care of one sector, which they called Zones. Each Zone has a special ability that is economically helpful. For example, Zone 3 is in charge of all trade and sales. And Zone 8 drills for oil.

And Zone 9, where our heroine used to live?

Hunting.

And Kimberly Crawford, direct descendant of Michael Crawford, one of the 9 Stones, is the most skilled huntress in the Zone.

* * *

**JACK**

Zone 5 was chaos, and it made him proud to know that it was because of he and his father's doing.

Malakai Brewer looked up at his son. Though both he and his late wife were both relatively average in height, his only son Jack was practically a giant with his five foot ten stature. Height was almost unheard of in Adroit.

It was a mixed blessing for the cause.

"Son," he boomed in his deep voice. "The time has come to spread our cause to the other Zones. I have already sent some of my best to Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. Now, I am sending you to Zone 9, the most corrupt Zone, eliminate the Mayor, Chuck Crawford, who has been implanted with the evil chip. Security is tight there, and make sure you are wary of the Mayor's daughter, who is fabled to be the best huntress in Zone. If you come across her, kidnap her and bring her to us. She could be of some use before she is corrupted as well."

Jack laughed. "I think I can take on a _girl_."

His father smirked. "You remind me of when I was young. Remember, underestimating the power of women was one of the fatal mistakes the world leaders made during the Final War. Don't do the same."

Jack smiled, but did not say anything. He did a quick salute to his father, the rebel leader, and started walking to the underground hideout, which housed all the rebel leaders and their families.

"Oh, and son?"

Jack turned again, his handsome face illuminated from the lights of the fires that spread across Downtown Square.

"It's also rumored that Kim Crawford, the huntress, is the most beautiful girl in all of Adroit," Malakai warned. "Don't make the mistake of falling in love with a woman from the opposing side. I made that mistake and..." He paused, looking sorrowfully at Jack.

Jack tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat, but failed. He'd always felt like he couldn't breath whenever his father mentioned Phillipa Marion, his mother who was slain in an attempt to control the rebellion when many from the National House of Justice (NHJ) realized just how corrupt the government was.

He blinked a few times, trying to wipe his mind of the image of his beloved mother bleeding to death on the cold marble floors of the NHJ building. It was a miracle he and his father survived. The mental picture was still there, but it helped stop the tears that threatened to spill. He nodded curtly to his father and continued down the hideout, making a checklist of everything he needed to complete his mission.

The rebellion was not off to a good start, but Jackson Brewer, son of the rebel leader Malakai Brewer, was determined to complete his mission, and not get sidetracked by a pretty little _huntress_.


	2. Elimination

_I wasn't planning on updating again this week, but I just got too excited about this story. In fact, I got my sister to read it, and actually liked it! For all those authors with younger siblings, y'all know how I feel! It's a big thing. So... (drumroll please) on with the show!_

* * *

**KIM**

"Kimberly Crawford! What have I said about keeping your hood up when you are indoors?"

Kim sighed, knowing it was no use to argue with Joan, the secretary his father had hired to take care of her while he was at meetings. "Babysitter" would be the correct term, but she absolutely hated it. "Nanny" was even worse.

But, being an elder, she had to do what Joan commanded. It was law. Kim gingerly eased the hood off of her head, the inside littered with pieces of sticky gum. Joan, being a pole that felt no pity what-so-ever, remained emotionless as usual. She grabbed the blonde's long hair and pulled her towards a mirror.

"How in all of Adroit did this happen?" Joan rasped as she tried to comb out as much as she could using her fingers. No avail; it was stuck fast.

"Why don't you ask the village boys, such as Adrian?" Kim suggested, gritting her teeth as Joan dug her fingers in a bit more roughly after hearing Kim say her beloved nephew's name.

"Don't bring Adrian into this. You have no idea what he has gone through."

"I know what it's like to loose a parent too! My mother died while giving birth to me."

"It's not the same!" Joan spat out, fire illuminating in her eyes. "He saw his father dying in his arms while he was four. You didn't even know your mother!"

All is quiet for a few strange moments. Finally, Kim spoke up.

"Isn't that worse, though? I'll never know what she thinks of me."

Joan sighed and let go of the girl's hair. "I've got most of it out," she announced. "But you'll need a haircut. I'll call Casey."

Kim saw the woman leave, slumping dejectedly. Death was not an uncommon thing in Zone 9, in all of Adroit to be honest. So many people were not yet immune to the sickness and starvation that contaminated the air. At school, Kim was usually left alone because of her social status. But during mealtimes, many of the starving children huddled around her, desperate to get even a morsel of the luxurious foods Kim was served. She usually split her lunch up into portions for the others to take.

Sticky gum helped though. Every person in Zone 9 has had it at least once in their life. Sticky gum has been proven to decrease appetite by a number of professors. It's easy to get, affordable, and has flavor.

It was the ammunition for the village boys against Kim.

Kim winced as she tried to untangle a section of hair that had been caught in the mess of sticky gum. Where was Casey?

She stared at her reflection. Kim thought she was pretty enough, with big eyes, lean body, and a sculpted face. It was her hair that was the problem.

Golden. Yellow. Whatever you called it, the fact was that Kim was blonde. While all the village people had brown or black or the occasional red hair, Kim was the only person in the Zone with blonde hair.

She received merciless teasing for this. People called her a witch and joked that she ought to get burned at the steak. At least, Kim hoped that they were joking.

"There she is, my brave girl! How could those imbeciles do this to your lovely hair?" Casey barged into the room with all the silence and grace of a NHJ military tank. Kim's lips quirked up in a smile, the first smile all day.

"Now turn around sugar, and let me see what the animals did to you."

Casey was a sweet African-Adroitian with a certain knack for making a disastrous hair related situation become beautiful and solved. She had a boy once too, but he had gone missing years ago, along with her husband. The man was found dead in the woods surrounding Zone 9, but the boy had not yet been tracked. Casey dedicated the rest of her life to making other's happy.

Sure enough, after fifteen minutes of snipping, Kim's hair was shorter and free of gum. Her once waist length locks were now situated a few inches from her shoulders, and a large section of the front of her hair was cut shorter than the others to hang loosely, covering a portion of her right eye, forming, as Casey had called them, bangs.

Kim was admiring herself in the mirror when her father came in. "What did they do to her? What did they do to the girl?" he shouted.

"Father, it was nothing that Casey couldn't fix," Kim said, bounding over to her father and squeezing tightly. He awkwardly hugged her back.

"Kim," he addressed her. "Why don't you take a little break. Go out hunting, or something. After my meeting, I'll need to talk to you. It's important."

Kim nodded, understanding his orders. Meetings were strictly confidential, and Kim was going to be Mayor one day after him, so talking with him wasn't out of the ordinary either.

She bid her father and Casey goodbye and exited the room, marching toward her own room. Kim kept an eye out for Joan, to apologize for insulting her nephew, but she didn't see her anywhere. Joan had been more and more absent recently. In fact, after every conversation with herself, Joan usually fled to God knows where.

Oh well. It wasn't in Kim's place to say so. She arrived at her room and changed to something more comfortable than her atrocious school uniform, instead opting for a simple pair of flexible brown pants, a plain black shirt, and her favorite boots, the ones with the two-part sole so she can keep a knife there in case she needed quick protection.

Now comes the huntress part of the ensemble. She strapped on two hunting knives to each of her calves, and pocketed a box of matches just in case. Kim then lovingly took her bow and arrow, the one thing she had from her mother. Legend had it that Roberta Crawford was one of the best huntresses in her day and age too, and it made Kim proud that she was using the same weapon as the heroine.

Kim grabbed her sweater and pulled the hood over her head again. She glimpsed at herself in the mirror one last time before stepping out of her room and making her way through the Labyrinth that was the Mayor's house.

Stepping outside, she jogged down the steps and all but sprinted to the woods, which were only a few paces away from her home.

Looking back on it, Kim realized that her hurry to get in the woods was the reason she survived. If she had paused for even a minute, she would be dead. Gone.

Because just as Kim ran into the deeper part of the woods, the part where the few trees became many and shrub growth was much more evident, the part everyone called the True Forest, the Mayor's house exploded, and Kim became weightless.


	3. Explosion

_MUAHAHAHAHA! It's so fun being an evil author and making you guys wait a whole week for an update. Seriously, this is probably, like, my first cliffhanger, so it's big news. And just in case some of you actually read any of this crap that I write at the top of every chapter, look in the bottom! I have a contest thing-a-ma-bob that y'all can participate in. So you liked my last chapter, ehh? And I got a review from __**Baby Porcupine-Cute but DEADLY **__who is one of my favorite author. Woot woot! Celebration time COME ON!_

_P.S. What do you guys think of my new username? Anyone know the song it's from? And don't look at my profile, that's cheating._

* * *

**JACK**

**JACK**

"I used to live here, you know."

Jack raised an eyebrow at his comrade. "I never knew you were from Zone 9."

"Yeah," Eddie finally stopped fiddling with the copper wire to look up at the other man. "The 'splosion's just about done. Gimme five more minutes."

Jack nodded, ready to give him as long as time allowed them. If the explosion worked properly, then the cause would get a real kick start.

Eddie still remembered the day he stumbled upon the branch of the rebel hideout located in Zone 9. He was thirteen, young enough to still qualify as a village boy, but old enough to go after girls. He had never been very good at hunting, despite having lived in the Zone for all his life, but for some strange reason he felt like going into the forest.

It hadn't even been five minutes before he dropped his knife into a bush.

Huffing indignantly, Eddie had pushed his hands through the shrub in search of the only weapon he had foolishly brought. Somehow, he had flicked some kind of switch that revealed the entrance to the hideout beneath said shrub. Out came a gleaming silver opening, its double doors seeming both inviting and menacing. Despite the well known proverb (Curiosity killed the Kids, after all), Eddie had wiggled in.

Though understandably surprised, the rebel leaders welcomed him in. So what if hunting wasn't his forte? Through trial and error, he found out exactly was.

Explosions.

So that's why Eddie was the best choice for this mission.

Jack remembered the day Eddie came in. He was a year younger than him, and eager to learn. Jack had a hard time believing that the chubby, happy-go-lucky boy morphed into this grim, battle-hardened man. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight, and was surprisingly tall, nearly as tall as Jack was. Eddie also had a strange power over women, though he did not milk it for all it was worth, unlike some other scum-bags Jack knew of. In fact, he'd heard rumors that Eddie had his eye on one woman in particular-Grace, a petite, energetic brunette who worked in mechanics.

That wasn't important though. What was important was getting the explosion ready in time.

"Done," Eddie finalized, rising up and giving his long legs a shake. "We'll want to move out. This explosion sure is a pow'rful one."

They sprinted to the woods, which were a short distance away from the Mayor's House, which was the place of attack. Jack was just about to give the signal to Eddie when the door opened and someone with a mop of blonde hair stepped out.

Jack frowned. Blonde hair? That's unusual. Blonde is almost extinct.

Blondie ran into the woods, a different angle than the boys had thankfully. But if he/she was leaving the Mayor's house, then someone would surely follow. It was now or never.

Thumbs up to Eddie.

An ear-shattering BOOM filled the air. Jack felt the ground shake, and squatted down as to not get hit my any of the debris. Panic seeped into the air.

Then all was quiet.

Jack rose from his hiding spot and inspected the damage. There was nothing left of the Mayor's House except a large patch of smoking black ash.

The people of Zone 9 finally understood what was going on. Their wails of pain and outrage filled Jack's ears as he searched for Eddie. He rose too, and squinted in the afternoon sun, inspecting the damage.

Jack smiled. Zone 9 was chaos, and it made him proud that it was his and Eddie's doing.

"Let's go," he told Eddie, motioning to the carefully concealed hideout. "I doubt it'll be long before our maintenance men alibi withers and they'll hunt us down."

"Not so fast," Eddie cautioned apprehensively. "I think you want to check out that person that came into the woods earlier."

Jack paused. "Why would I want to do that?"

"'Cause there's only one person in Zone 9 who has that kind of hair. That's definitely Kim Crawford, the mayor's daughter."

Jack stopped fully in his tracks and pondered the dilemma. On one hand, they really needed to _vamoose_. On the other hand, if what his dad said about the Kim chick was true…

Finally, Jack shrugged. "Might as well. With her figure, she probably went flying."

He shook out his legs and made his way to where he had last seen the girl. As expected, she was no longer there, so he trekked out a little further. Eddie followed diligently, wordless.

"You've never seen the tapes of her, have you?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence.

"No," Jack replied, scanning the surrounding for a speck of blonde hair. "Why would I care about the matters of a huntress?"

"She's unbelievable at her sport. Her mother was the huntress of the family, and she died during labor, so she never learned any special techniques from her father. But being the top ranker doesn't do things to her ego, no sir. I'm in the same age division as her and I remember how she used to split her lunch up and share it with the not-so well-to-do kids. Not to mention she's beautiful. With all due respe-"

"Eddie," Jack interrupted. "I would love to hear the rest of your Ode to Kim, but I think I should inform you that I have found her."

He pointed at the ground a few yards away from them, where a yellow section of hair was plainly visible.

As the men jogged to the unconscious woman, Jack glanced at Eddie. "I'm guessing you don't want me to tell Grace what you said about Kim, right?"

"Oh God, don't even think about it."

Jack chuckled, and slowed as he reached the woman. She was laying spread eagle on the ground, dirt-streaked face visible to the pair. All signs of laughter were gone as he stared at her.

Kim's golden hair flowed in soft waves. It framed her tanned face, creating an elegant contrast. Her eyes were closed, but Jack imagined them opened and bright, framed by her long eyelashes. Her nose was straight, going well with her high cheekbones. Her soft pink lips were parted open slightly, and Jack imagined brushing his own to them, feeling the fullness of them against his mouth.

She was beautiful. Completely, utterly beautiful.

"Wow," Jack whispered.

"Told you,"

* * *

**CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST!**

Well, sort of. I want to make a sort of back story, but I didn't have to time to (or was just to lazy to, whichever you choose) make OCs, so that's where you guys come in! I need a guy and a girl, so go ahead and put your beautiful ladies and handsome gents out in the limelight. Beware that, because I'm a sap, I'll most likely make them fall in love, so if you don't want them too...well, that's your choice! Also, if I like one character of yours and another character of someone else's, I might make them pair up too. So leave put in a little note that you don't want your character to be paired with someone else.

GOOD LUCK YOU GAIZ


	4. Confusion

_You guys, I am so sorry! I thought I uploaded it on Saturday, but doc manager decided to be a butthead and delete it during upload. So, yeah. Sorry 'bout that. To make it up for you, I promise I'll write another chapter later this same week. Anyway, after much thought, I have decided to include three characters-Ari, Chrys, and Carter. Ari and Chrys originally belonged to Baby Porcupine-Cute but DEADLY and Carter belongs to an author that wishes to remain anonymous. Ta-da! Enjoy!_

* * *

**ARI**

Her eyes changed colors.

That was the first observation about Chrysanthemum Apothecary (try saying THAT five times fast) that he made. The second?

She was rather pretty.

Her eyes didn't change with the light, as he'd originally thought. No, they straight up transformed. They can go from dark brown to violet in less than a second. He'd seen one of her episodes happen, and she always seemed changed after that. She could be in her prankster mood with gray eyes, and the next minute, she'd purse her lips and glare with her piercing green eyes, scolding whoever she was with severe enough to make them put away the shaving cream. It didn't happen a lot, but when it did, they tended to scare people.

He wasn't sure what was up with her, but he was determined to figure Chrys out.

Ari brushed a hand through his curly black hair and scraped off the dirt on his mana blade, applying just the right amount of pressure so as not to grate off the thin layer of chemical that surrounded the blade. The outer coat had dried a long time ago, but the inner coat was probably still semi-moist. If mixed with any other substance, the chemical might create some kind of explosion. Heaven knows there's been enough talk of that, what with the son of the rebel leader off to kill another poor sap with the chip.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from below him. Ari fixed his perch on the tree to stare down at Chrys. She smiled at him, violet eyes twinkling amusedly.

"What are you doing up there?" she called. "And while you are, could you pluck off a few leaves? Birch is a great remedy for mouth sores."

Well, look at that. Progress already.

Ignoring her request, Ari gracefully hopped from branch to branch, landing silently in front of Chrys. She raised an eyebrow, impressed but unwilling to say so.

"What are you doing in the greenhouse, Ari?" she repeated her question.

Ari was surprised. "You know who I am?"

"Of course," Chrys replied, shrugging. "I think I should have at least heard of the guy who single-handedly revolutionized the weaponry section in the rebellion. But you didn't answer my question."

But before Ari could reply, she stiffened and doubled over. Unsure what to do at this point, Ari just awkwardly pat her back while backing away. He was about to jump onto a tree again, when Chrys finally reemerged.

Her eyes were dark brown. But they were such a deep, rich, chocolaty shade of brown that Ari quickly found himself lost in them.

It took Chrys clearing her throat to break him out of his trance. She blinked at him slowly, silently begging him not to talk about it.

Mercifully, Ari decided to let it drop. She's got a weird thing, but hey! So does he.

"Are you ever going to answer my question?" Chrys whined. Ari gave her a smirk in reply, and pressed his lips together, miming locking a bolt on his mouth.

"Not telling."

* * *

**KIM**

She woke in a large gray room with a pounding headache.

In approximately 0.83 seconds, Kim was up and noting her surroundings. All her weapons were gone, but if she was lucky…

Not pausing to check, she circled, eyes alert for any kind of danger. Though there was no one here, Kim felt like she was being watched. She's always felt like that way in the Mayor's House, but it had grown familiar. Now, in a strange place, being monitored was the last thing she needed.

"Hey there!"

In one fluid motion, Kim jumped in the air and twisted, kicking her left leg so it landed squarely on the chest of the person. Simultaneously, she reached down and ripped the small knife out of the sole of her right boot. As she fell, she swiped at the intruder's arm, hard enough to make him (it was definitely a him) bleed but not hard enough to do damage.

"Ah!" he screamed. "You cut me!"

His eyes flashed angrily, and his unharmed arm shot out in a sudden punch. Caught off guard, Kim fell victim and received the blow in her stomach. She fell on the hard ground, the wind knocked out of her.

"Jackson!" a voice called, seemingly from the wall. "What are you doing to the poor girl?"

A panel on one of the walls moved and a small statured man rushed in, eyebrows crinkling worriedly. He helped Kim up. Her headache throbbed, more painfully than ever. She felt like someone had split in half with an ax.

"What's going on?" she managed, one hand massaging her temple and the other gripping her knife.

The smaller man glared at the taller one. "Jack!" he scolded. "You didn't tell her?"

The guy, Jack, glowered back. "I was trying to, but then she freaking attacked me!"

"She's in shock, Jack. Be patient with her. She just lost her father."

"What?!" Kim screamed. How did this come up just now?

The unnamed man ignored her, and walked up to Jack. He examined the young man's wound. "It bleeds, but it isn't too deep. Go see Milton and he'll patch you up."

Jack glared at Kim, and though she was unsure what was going on, Kim couldn't help but note that Jack was handsome. Really handsome.

His cheeks were finely chiseled, each accented by nearly identical moles. His nose was perfectly symmetrical. His lips were slightly full, and Kim could tell by the small dimples near the left corner of his mouth that he was a smirker, not a smiler. His long, curling hair nearly reached his broad shoulders, and framed his face in a drawl of bangs. His body was fit and muscular, the body of an Adonis.

But he was currently angry at her, and Kim didn't know what to do.

"Kimberly?" the short man questioned.

"Kim," she automatically corrected.

"Kim," the man agreed, smiling somberly. "I'm Rudy. Follow me. I have some news for you."

Kim wasn't sure what was going on, and she wasn't sure whether or not to trust Rudy, but Kim couldn't help but feel attracted to the Jack person. He was glaring holes in the back of her head, but that would change once she understood what was going on.

Right?


	5. Caution

_Well, hello there readers! *Dodges pitchforks and flying torches* Woah, woah woah! Calm the flip down! Actually, You guys have every right to be mad at me. I really want to update faster, but between school and other extra good stuff, I just can't find the time to. Sorry?_

_Okay, first off: Sorry but there's no Chrys or Ari in this chapter. The next chapter will, however, be completely dedicated to those two (+Carter). I just had to map out my plan for Jack and those goons first off. Kay? Kay. And secondly: There is one curse word in this chapter. I try to refrain, but sometimes there's just no other way around it. And since this is rated T for Teen, y'all should be prepared for it._

_Mmkay, that's all. Enjoy the chapter! _

* * *

**JACK**

Instead of the same outrage and irritation Jack expected his friend to feel, Jerry just laughed when he told him of his first impression of Kim.

"Serves you right bro," Jerry smiled, amusement lighting up his black eyes. "Everyone gave you a warning of what that chick could do but you dismissed it."

Jack huffed indignantly, but made no attempt to defend himself. Instead, he all too deliberately changed the topic of conversation.

"What's up with your parents? Any news of them?" Jack asked, rather bluntly.

The easiness in the two's conversation disappeared, leaving the rawness of Jack's question transparent.

"Oh, I'm sorry man. I didn't mean-"

"No," Jerry interrupted curtly, the humor in his voice gone. "I haven't heard anything about my parents. Thanks, Jack, for reminding me."

Open mouth, insert foot, Jack thought. He really needed to learn when to not talk.

Jerry was one of the 'war kids,' a child born from the people who have been part of the rebellion since they themselves were near birth. The Latino has had a relatively happy life compared to some of the children that are taken in.

That is, until Maria and Juan Pablo Martinez went missing in action in a recon mission earlier in the year.

Jack and Jerry were childhood friends, so their disappearance hit Jack with the force of a truck, but it was nothing compared to Jerry. The formerly easy going, happy go lucky guy that Jack had known for all his life smartened up within two weeks. Though he was Jack's age (20), and legally an adult, Jerry of the past used to balk at the mention of responsibility. Now Jerry single handedly took care of his younger siblings and adopted cousin, whom were still children. He led missions, with the approval of the rebel leaders, to rescue the ordinary civilians who were caught in the line of attack in the hopes of finding his parents one day.

Thankfully, Jerry still made time to talk with his best friend.

The pair made their way to the gym. The base has multiple gyms for the use of training members and basically keeping themselves active and fit. Everyone was required to spend at least two hours a day exercising in one of them.

The painful lull in conversation meant that Jack was quite plainly able to hear the feminine "Hiya!" followed by a sturdy sounding hit.

Pushing the creaking doors open, he saw the person who made the noises. Easily identifiably by her blonde hair, Kim continued her merciless beating up of a rubber dummy. As Jack watched, she backflipped in mid air, landing next to a pile of bronze swords. Picking one up, she ran at full sprint towards the modal, weaving left and right as if dodging blows aimed at her.

In one fluid motion, she stabbed the dummy in its stomach, ripping upwards brutally so that the dummy had a long gash across its belly.

Slow clapping from Jerry. Jack had forgotten he was even there.

"Mamacita," he stated in admiration. "I pity the fool who you would use that move against."

She whirled around, sword clattering on the floor as she let go of it. Her tea brown eyes blazed boiling hot as she glared at Jack. "It's too bad I can't use it on said fool."

Jack blinked. "Me?"

Kim stalked over to them. Jerry slowly took a step back, probably fearing the woman's wrath, but Jack stood his ground.

"You. Killed. My. Father. I. Want. To. Kill. You."

Something about the total rage and seriousness in her tone made him step back too.

"Look, killing isn't something I do for fun but-"Jack tried to explain.

"But I don't care! My dad is gone! He was the only family I had left, and you took him away from me!"

She suddenly crumpled on the floor, head buried in her hands. Her chest heaved as painful sobs wracked her body. Jack had no clue what to do at this point, but, sending a helpless glance to Jerry, he knelt down and patted her shoulder.

"Hey, hey," he soothed, trying to sound comforting. "It's okay."

Puffy eyes stared mutinously back at him, Kim's moment of weakness forgotten. "None of you has had to go through the faintest similarity of what I have gone through. In fact, I pray you haven't. Don't try to act like you know me."

With that, she pushed off the arm wrapped around her shoulder, took deep calming breaths, and stood up. She placed the sword which she had earlier dropped back into its neat pile. She'd started walking away, but Jack asked a question that made her stop in her tracks.

"Do you miss him?"

Jerry smacked his friend's shoulder after the words left his mouth, and Jack was feeling pretty bad about them too. But to their surprise, Kim answered.

"He was distant, cold, and I have never heard him utter the words 'I love you,' to me," she paused, wiping a stubborn tear off her cheek. "Of course I miss him."

Everyone stayed silent, reflecting on Kim's words. Jack desperately wanted to console her, and possibly even apologize for his earlier actions, but he couldn't just yet. He still didn't trust her, and it probably would be a long time till he would.

The squeal of the doors broke the silence and in walked in the man himself, Malakai Brewer.

"Well," he announced, loud voice echoing off the walls of the room. "I see you've all become acquainted. That's all good and well, but I've come to see my son alone for a few minutes."

Jerry respectfully saluted the much older man and stepped back, giving him the space to talk with his son.

"Son," he boomed. "Well done on your annihilation of Chuck Crawford. Never stood a chance, that poor man."

Jack glanced at Kim to see how she was faring, but her face gave no answers. He returned his gaze to his father.

"I have a proposal for you," Malakai continued. "I need some on ground work done for specific Zones. Will you be able to take that on?"

"Easily," came Jack's firm response.

"Now we just need to get you a partner in crime. I was thinking that Brody boy, the one with the-"

"I volunteer," Kim piped up, at last.

Both father and son stared at the young woman with disbelief. Kim stared back just as steadily.

"I'm the best female huntress known in my Zone. I can make quick work with any weapon. I'm probably the only one who knows just as much self defense as him, if not more." Kim said with a haughty smirk toward Jack.

"I'm your obvious choice."

Jack gawked at his father, who seemed to be genuinely thinking it over. "But she's a prisoner! She could betray us!"

"No, I have a feeling she won't…" mused Malakai. "Kim, you're right. Congratulations, Jack. Your partner for these series of mission is now Kim.

"B-b-buh, huh?" Jack spluttered. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kim's triumphant smile.

Malakai left with Kim to talk things over with her, but jack was left gaping at their retreating figures.

"Wooooowwwww…" Jerry whistled, having been a spectator of all that.

"This is going to be a nightmare," groaned Jack.

"I don't know. You've got a pretty girl with you while you get to beat people up and look like a badass in front of her. I'd say things could be worse."


End file.
